Work-benches for private and industrial use are, of course, well known. Such work-benches are usually provided with drawers in which tools, equipment and other hardware may be stored. In addition, many work-benches have equipment such as vices fitted thereto. Once laden and fitted, a work-bench assembly is relatively heavy. Moreover, because much of the work carried out on a work-bench must be effected within fine tolerances, it is essential that the work-bench is stable.
For this reason, most work-benches are free standing or are fixedly supported on or against an immovable object such as a floor or wall and, once located in their desired position, are not intended to be moved. Accordingly, in locations such as garage workshops, work-benches tend to be located around the periphery of the workshop.
The vehicles upon which work is to be effected are then driven into the central area of the workshop and the mechanic carries out the necessary work on the vehicle. In most cases, this means that the vehicle upon which work is to be carried out is in one location and the mechanic's tools and equipment are in a second location. For example, it may be necessary for a mechanic to carry out a machining operation on a vehicle component. This cannot usually be effected in situ. The mechanic must, therefore, remove the part from the vehicle, carry it to his work-bench, carry out the necessary mahining operation, return it to the vehicle and refit the machined component. If the machining operation is successful at the first attempt, no major problems arise. However, as aforementioned, many tasks must be effected within extremely fine tolerances and it is by no means unusual for a mechanic to have to carry out the above-described cycle two or three times. The need for carrying the workpiece from the vehicle to the work-bench and back to the vehicle on a number of occasions can prove extremely vexatious. Moreover, it must be appreciated that many vehicle components are relatively heavy and the continued carrying of such workpieces across the workshop is fatiguing to the mechanic and can lead to accidents occurring. Accordingly, it is highly desirable if the work-bench is located as close as possible to the vehicle upon which work is to be effected.
Merely locating conventional static work-benches adjacent the intended location of a vehicle upon which work is to be carried out is generally wasteful of space. Another alternative would be merely to provide the workbench with wheels to enable it to be moved around the workshop. However, this, in itself, is not a solution to the problem. If the work-bench is simply mounted on wheels, it will not remain static and stable whilst operations are being carried out thereon. It would therefore be necessary to chock the wheels once the work-bench is located in its desired position, or for a brake arrangement to be provided. Chocking the wheels is not an ideal solution and the use of a brake arrangement is also not entirely satisfactory. Workshop floors are, by their very nature, not the cleanest of places and extremely regular maintenance of the brakes would be necessary to ensure their continued satisfactory operation.
Undercarriages are known which permit heavy objects which are normally static to be moved and, once located in their desired new position, to be rendered static once more. However, most of these known arrangements are mounted directly on the underside of the object and are located extremely close to ground level. for example, such an arrangement is known for permitting household appliances such as cookers, to be moved so that the floor beneath and behind the cooker can be cleaned. However, household kitchens are usually much cleaner than workshop floors and the low level location of such undercarriage devices does not give rise to undue maintenance problems.